Summer Madness
by jj-chan
Summary: They had an unlikely affair, but they had to end it. So they did, and things went back to normal. But things never really go back to normal, ne? one shot, LOKI x LIDIA. Yes, you may kill the author now. R&R please! SIDESTORY ADDED.
1. Madness, This!

Disclaimer: Neither I nor the author, Paul, own Ragnarok. Not yet, anyway. XD

**SUMMER MADNESS**

The night is cold. Leaves rustle in the wind, whispering secrets to each other no one will ever know about. The breeze wraps its icy fingers around everything, surrounding them in the numbing chill of the evening.

There is no moon. The stars are covered by darkness. The night is lit only by the dim light of fireflies, dancing to an unknown rhythm. Crickets chirp, frogs croak, a host of other sounds are all strangely muffled in the dim light.

All these things together have given the night its own dark, beautiful magic.

Somewhere in the forested glade, two people meet.

They stand, facing, yet not looking at each other. Not talking, perfectly silent. Faces hidden. A firefly passes between them, illuminating them for a brief moment. Their eyes meet suddenly.

_Guess this is it, huh?_

She sounds casual and carefree, like she always does. And she is. Of course she does not want to be anywhere else but here, doing anything else but this. This meeting is of no great importance to her. Well, it's not that important to him either.

He is silent, as usual. A cold stillness, like ice. Or is it a different kind of silence? One of quiet inner turmoil, maybe? Definitely not. After all, he doesn't want_ it_ to continue, right? She knows that. She feels the same way.

_I mean, we couldn't continue doing…erm …_that, _ne? Stupid thing to do, anyway. Can't even remember why we started it! Ahehehe…_

Why does it sound a bit hoarse, as if she is holding back something? Oh, she had a choking match with the cleric earlier today, that's why. It isn't because she is upset about this. He knows that.

_Geez, don't be so solemn, will ya! It's not like we won't ever see each other again! Be like that and it'll seem like you actually care about-_

Abruptly, he fixes her with his penetrating glare. The one that seems to see right into your soul, making you feel intruded upon, exposed to his merciless gaze. He continued to stare at her, as if determined to see her innermost thoughts and feelings. But then again, he does that with everyone.

She squirmed and stopped talking, her eyes fixed on his. Is he really that affected by her words? No, no, he is just being himself. He's famous for that stare, anyway. And she isn't affected by it either. She was just startled into stopping, that's all. She opens her mouth and continues.

_W-whatcha starin' for! Don't tell me I hit home with that sentence! I was just kidding for Odin's sake!_

_Don't get any ideas._

_Whatever. Guess it was fun while it lasted. But everything's gotta end, including crazy summer stints like that. Besides, the others might find out, and…_

Her voice fades. Another ball of light dances their way. He looks away, as if remembering….

* * *

That night was cold too. The others were gone for a while, and they were alone. Nothing wrong with that. 

A sudden trip in her step, and she was in his arms. An accidental brush of lips. A small spark quickly became a raging inferno. Passion flared. A baseless, reckless, instantaneous, maddening and consuming passion. And they lost to it, time and time again. Night after night of secret, mindless pleasure.

It was summer madness, plain and simple. Nothing else to call it. Just a physical thing. No deeper feelings on both their parts. She obviously had a crush on him, but it was shallow, frivolous. Just simple lust and it would probably be spent soon already.

They kept it secret, of course. But it was apparently starting to affect them, even during the day.

She seemed a tiny bit more concerned for others, a bit more caring. One time, when nobody was looking it actually seemed as if she returned her loot to the little child she had stolen it from, with a little extra. And it even looked like she had fewer fights with the cleric.

He seemed an iota gentler, less wooden. He was almost the one starting long conversations with the others, and joining in, too. It looked like he even smiled, a real smile, once or twice. And his eyes, they sometimes appeared less guarded, more open.

Too bad they were obviously the only ones who noticed anything remotely strange. Nobody else was paying attention.

But it was dangerous, distracting. Several times, it almost cost them their lives, or worse. They were paying less attention their surroundings and the potential dangers around them. He was getting impulsive, reckless, in battle; she was almost caught and jailed more than a few times.

They had to end it.

* * *

Abruptly, he snaps out of his reverie. She is asking him something. He does not respond. She asks him again, almost uncertainly. 

_We're…we're doing the right thing, aren't we?_

He remains quiet. Unmoving. His silence weighs heavily around them. Other sounds cease. The fireflies dance a tiny bit slower. Everything is still for a moment, as if holding a breath.

…_yes._

The sounds return, a trifle louder than before. The fireflies resume their strange cadence, an iota faster.

His eyes are blank, his expression unreadable.

Then the girl shifts, turns around. Her heart is certainly not shattering into a million tiny pieces by his answer. That would be absurd. It's not like they won't be seeing each other again, as she already pointed out herself. Dust in her eyes, that's why tears are flowing.

Of course those weeks meant little to her.

She takes one step; she is walking away. Suddenly, his arm shoots forward. He grasps her hand, holding it in a tight grip. She freezes, her hand trapped in his. She doesn't face him.

_What is it now?_

_Do not think you have formed some sort of human "attachment" to me, or vice versa. Those things mean nothing at all._

Right, nothing. He doesn't even like her, anyway. He doesn't have the ability to "like". She is an irritating, clingy person; just a comrade has to put up with for the duration of their quest.

Of course those weeks meant nothing to him.

He lets her hand go, pivots on his step and leaves. There is nothing more to say. His figure is soon lost in the darkness.

She turns and watches him. Was that a sad little smile on her face? No, her expression is blank now. She brushes her tears away, straightens her back. She goes, too.

The glade is empty. Fireflies dance, crickets chirp, frogs croak. Various other sounds are heard. The sky is completely black, no light comes from it. The leaves rustle, the cold breeze rushes by.

Then the stars come out.

* * *

Time passes by; life resumes its usual cadence. 

She is as she always was, noisy, greedy, thieving and obsessed with finding treasure. She picks fights with the cleric. She also picks the pockets of unsuspecting people, abuses her cat, and misses her father. She still drools over every cute guy she sees, including him. Her attitude now is no different from the time they met.

She is only catching her breath in those instances when her shoulders droop almost hopelessly and her face is obscured by the curtain of her hair. Besides, a moment later it passes, because nothing had happened at all.

Of course she has not changed.

He is as stoic as ever, cold and distant. He refuses to get into intimate human contact with the others, his assassin skills honed to perfection. He wears his freaky skeletor costume in battle; he possesses cosmic energy and wields his swords of shadows. He still ignores all the attention she gives. His demeanor is the same as it ever was.

It is only a trick of the light when his eyes seem to hold a deep, conflicting emotion during unguarded moments when nobody is watching. Split seconds later it is gone, because it was never there in the first place.

Of course he has not changed.

And those weeks, those nights, especially that last night in the glade…they have buried all the memories. Nobody knows of them. If nobody knows, then it is as if they had never happened at all.

So nothing happened during those times. There is nothing to even remember.

But on cold nights late in summer, in a certain forested glade, there is something strange in the air.

* * *

On those nights, the leaves whisper secrets to each other that no one will ever know about. The breeze chills everything its icy fingers can touch. 

On those nights, the moon does not appear. The stars are hidden; the only light is from the dancing fireflies, giving the glade a nostalgic air. Crickets, frogs, and other things sing a melody with no tune, a curiously beautiful one.

And if you listen closely enough, the moment just before the stars come out….

You can almost hear those unspoken words, echoing softly in the darkness of the night.

_I love you…_

_I love you too…_

**END **

Me: There you have it people, hope you enjoyed it and all that. By the way, this is **not**, I repeat, **this is not the total story**. There's another one (the main one, actually,) only if this one goes unnoticed I probably won't post it. It's about what happened during said weeks and after. So if you guys wanna (but probably don't wanna) see it, please R&-

Loki: This is probably the worst me/Lidia fic I have ever read.

Lidia: Yeah! This's the only Loki/me fic ever, and _they had to make it stink BIG TIME!_ _If I just get me hands on _**the author's grubby little-**

Loki: Calm down, you are making yourself look stupid.

Lidia: …_and lookit this beautiful fenris/loki fic, and this…does nobody care for the relic hunter! _((yadda yadda yadda))

Paul: Excuse me?

Chaos, Fenris, and the rest of the gang walk in carrying lunch.

Chaos: _Food fight!_

Everybody except Loki and me: _YEAH! (( _total pandemonium breaks out))

Me: ((dodging milkshakes, burgers, and a banana peel))…uhh… please R&R…flames are always welcome…

Loki: Idiotic humans.


	2. Truth and Lies

Hi. XD

jj found a little tidbit on her hard drive... And posted it. It's just a little exposition on one of_ Madness'_ themes. Hope you guys like it.

* * *

**Sidestory: **Why They Never Could Last

-

_They said they were getting distracted, reckless; and that was true._

_Yet there is always another truth behind a truth._

_Loki frowns; Lidia steals._

_Loki smiles; Lidia gives._

_They were the two people least prepared to make that change._

_He was an emotionally stunted assassin; she was an immature and mischievous thief._

_Definitely not a good match. They weren't SUITED. They obviously wouldn't last._

_That is the truth._

_They couldn't deal with the consequences of their actions._

_That is the truth._

_There is always a truth behind a truth. And perchance, another behind that._

_But how could anyone be afraid to love?_

-

The night was dark, quiet, and cold. It seeped under the skin through the whispers of the breeze, singing of the end-of-summer. The sky showed the first faint slivers of dark blue-gray.

It was time to wake.

Lidia stood up, stretching, and winced.

"Ow."

"Are you all right?"

Loki's voice could have been carved out of stone; his eyes told of little more.

"Perhaps I should not have been so … rough."

She brushed it aside, winking at him like a naughty child.

"Naw. S'okay, I liked it."

Snigger.

"An' I mean, who'd have thought stony old skeletor freak could be sush an _animal_ in the sack? Heh."

She didn't even blush. It was an old joke.

"But you hurt."

"I'll be fine in the mornin'."

The horizon was shot with streaks of fire.

"It is morning."

She looked up, turning around.

"Not until Knighty convinces Sleeping Bratty that it's time to rise and shine it isn't."

"…"

He opened his mouth, but she pushed on, not noticing it or the sudden tension.

"But anyhow… gotta go…"

She trailed off and turned around, as if unsure of whether or not to continue, but this time, he was the one to look away.

"...so, see ya. Bye."

Nod.

So she left, and they both pretended that they didn't give a damn.

-

Because They Never Could Say 'I Love You'


End file.
